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Wed 9 May 2012 21:07

Lent car to uninsured friend who had an accident - Dentressangle

A while back I lent a car to a friend of mine. He had told me that he had cover to drive other vehicles, but this turned out not to be the case. Unfortunately he got involved in an accident (not entirely his fault as far as I've been able to ascertain, for what it's worth).

I've seen other posts on similar topics on here, but they seem to concentrate more on the legal implications of causing or permitting using a vehicle without insurance, which I'm fully aware of. What I would like to know is the implications if the third party tries to bring a claim. Obviously my insurance won't want to pay out as my friend wasn't covered under my policy. So what would the options be for the third party?

The logical answer for me would seem to be that he would either claim from the MIB under the uninsured driver provisions, or he would go after my friend who was the actual party involved in the accident, but logic doesn't always seem to feature very strongly when it comes to motoring law. Would the third party be able to try to pursue a claim against me personally? If so under what grounds?

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Wed 9 May 2012 23:03

Lent car to uninsured friend who had an accident - dacouch

The other driver will claim off your Insurance, your Insurance may then look to recover their outlay.

If you gave your friend permission to drive the vehicle subject to him having insurance, then you would not normally get a no insurance conviction

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Wed 9 May 2012 23:22

Lent car to uninsured friend who had an accident - tony g

Hi,
Two points .
One ,you believed that your friend was insured to drive ,that should be the end of your involvement .

Two ,if the third party was comprehensively insured ,his insurance company will pursue your friend for the cost of repairs etc .Will your friend be paying for repairs to your car ?

Tony g

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Wed 9 May 2012 23:38

Lent car to uninsured friend who had an accident - Dentressangle

Thanks for the responses.

The damage to my car was minimal (minor damage to the front bumper); damage to the other vehicle was more severe as the contact with my car caused the third party to lose control. My friend has bought the car off me anyway.

I haven't had any info on the insurance situation of the third party as yet, so no idea if they were fully comp, and haven't been able to find anything out about the extent of any personal injuries (which presumably wouldn't be covered, even by fully comp insurance?).

It seems odd to me that the third party would be able to claim against my insurance policy though - I thought that under the car insurance setup in the UK it is the driver that is insured rather than the vehicle, in which case I don't see why my insurance company could be expected to pay for the claim. As I said before though, logic doesn't always seem to apply in these situations...

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Wed 9 May 2012 23:56

Lent car to uninsured friend who had an accident - tony g

(The other driver will claim off your Insurance, your Insurance may then look to recover their outlay.)

I don't think the third party can claim off your insurance ,as you say it's the driver that's insured ,not the car.

You allowed your friend to drive ,because he told you he was insured ,how can you or your insurance company be responsible ?

Regards

Tony g

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Thu 10 May 2012 00:12

Lent car to uninsured friend who had an accident - dacouch

Check the RTA or it's on the MIB website http://www.mib.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/031A958B-1950-4064-8367-EAE93C4DB5AE/0/FAQGuaranteedFund.pdf see number 12. The same rules apply to cars that are loaned to friends etc as to stolen cars.

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Thu 10 May 2012 00:08

Lent car to uninsured friend who had an accident - dacouch

It's because of Section 151 (2) of the road traffice act.

Providing there was a current policy in force, the insurers have to pay if the driver eg your friend is identified

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Thu 10 May 2012 00:31

Lent car to uninsured friend who had an accident - Dentressangle

OK, well that's not the answer I was hoping for but it looks like you're right. It says the insurance company can recover against either my friend or me, but my friend is even skinter than I am so chances are they'll try to come after me. Brilliant - that's the last time I ever try to do anyone a favour.

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Thu 10 May 2012 11:20

Lent car to uninsured friend who had an accident - tony g

(Section 151(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 places an obligation on the insurers of the legal owner of a stolen vehicle to meet a judgment against the driver of the stolen vehicle.)

Hi da ,that's a fascinating peice of information ,in effect my car is stolen ,involved in an accident and my insurer has to pay for the damage to a third party ! Bizarre .

Having said that, I wonder if it's just the insurance company that has to pay and does it effect the insurance of the owner of the vehicle .it seems to go against natural justice ,that the owner of the vehicle should have his no claims bonus effected or have to pay an increased premium ,through no fault of his own .

Do you know if an insured owner has ever been affected by this ,and has it ever been challenged in a court ?

Regards

Tony g

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Fri 11 May 2012 00:20

Lent car to uninsured friend who had an accident - dacouch

The owners Insurer is only liable under the RTA if the driver of the vehicle is identified, so if your car is stolen and someone is identified eg caught by the police they will pay out under the RTA.

If your vehicle is stolen and the driver not identified then your Insurer will not pay out, the victim would claim off their own insurance or the MIB.

Victims (Or their Insurers) claim off the other drivers Insurance for stolen vehicles (Where the driver is indentified) whenever it happens which is fairly reguarly

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Fri 11 May 2012 06:57

Lent car to uninsured friend who had an accident - skidpan

Some years ago I was hit head on (on my side of the road) by a car that was being driven by the friend of the owner, the driver had borrowed the car since he had written his own off 2 days before.

My car was repaired immediately by my insurance company but I had to pay the excess and needed not only to recover that but get my NCB reinstated as the accident was 100% not my fault. This was before the days of legal cover thus it had to be a DIY job but after months I had got nowhere, the owners insurance said they were not paying since the car was not insured for any driver and the drivers insurance would not pay since the driver was only insured to drive his own car. This mean't that in theory the car was not insured but the Police were not interested in that at all.

After 6 months I dicovered that the RAC did an NCB recovery service free for members but they would also do it for non members for a one off charge of £5. Filled in the form, paid the money and 2 weeks later a cheque came through the door for my excess from the vehicle owners insurance company.

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Fri 1 Nov 2013 23:16

Lent car to uninsured friend who had an accident - fancypants

How did you get on with this?

My husband has found himself in a very similar situation and it would really help to know how you got on please?

Best wishes

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Sat 2 Nov 2013 12:18

Lent car to uninsured friend who had an accident - Avant

You may not get a direct reply as the last post on this thread was 18 months ago.

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